US blacklists several people, companies connected to Russia over fighting in Ukraine

A pro-Russian man (not seen) holds a Russian flag behind an armed servicemen on top of a Russian army vehicle outside a Ukrainian border guard post in the Crimean town of Balaclava on March 1, 2014.
Reuters/Baz Ratner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Tuesday blacklisted seven people and eight companies and government enterprises over Russia's annexation of Crimea and the conflict in Ukraine, the U.S. Treasury said in a statement.

In addition, it named 26 subsidiaries of Russian Agricultural Bank and gas producer Novatek, both of which had already been sanctioned in 2014. U.S. sanctions on those firms are relatively narrow, and prohibit Americans from dealing in certain kinds of debt with the companies.

"Today's action is in response to Russia's unlawful occupation of Crimea and continued aggression in Ukraine," John E. Smith, acting director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in a statement.

"These targeted sanctions aim to maintain pressure on Russia by sustaining the costs of its occupation of Crimea and disrupting the activities of those who support the violence and instability in Ukraine."